Ethics · 8 Aug 2026

collective failure Gujarat High Court

With reference to the Gujarat High Court's bail order in the Lakhiben Solanki case, consider the following statements:

  1. Justice Hasmukh D. Suthar invoked Articles 21 and 47 of the Constitution in framing the case as a "collective failure" of state and society.
  2. Article 47 of the Constitution is a Fundamental Right that is directly enforceable in a court of law.
  3. The bail order acquitted the accused of all criminal culpability on the ground of systemic state failure.

How many of the above statements are correct?

AOnly one
BOnly two
COnly three
DNone

Tests the ability to avoid conflating a Directive Principle with a Fundamental Right and bail with acquittal - both easily confused under a plausible-sounding but incorrect statement.

Subscribe / Login in App →
This question is based on: A Bail Order That Asked Who Really Failed This Child
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 8 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

The Gujarat High Court granted bail to a mother accused of killing her starving toddler, terming the tragedy a "collective failure" of state and society under Articles 21 and 47.

Why for UPSC

This tests two classic UPSC confusions simultaneously - Fundamental Rights vs Directive Principles and bail vs acquittal - both of which a careless reading of this case could easily conflate.

Prelims summary

The Gujarat HC invoked Article 21 (Fundamental Right) and Article 47 (a non-justiciable Directive Principle) in granting bail - not acquittal - to a mother accused of killing her starving child, framing the case as a collective state and societal failure.

On web, answers are shown once after a test — no save or reattempt. For unlimited reattempts, Hindi medium, and Mentor Observations, use the TAN App.